Method of treating tubular textile fabric



March 18, 1952 s. COHN ET AL 2,589,345

METHOD OF TREATING TUBULAR TEXTILE FABRIC Filed Jan. 4, 1950 Patented Mar. 18, 1 952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD. .OF TREATING TUBULAR TEXTILE;

FABRIQ Samuel.Cohn, Jules G; Walter, and'Eugene- Cohnf New. or k,, ll-. 1L, assignors to SamcoeHolding; Corporation, Woodside, N. Y., a corporation of? New York.

Application January 4, 1950, Serial No. 136,698

(Cl. Z.6,:1.8 .,5.)

9 l. This; invention relates to a. simple method: of treating: tubular textile fabrics and particularly a novel method and apparatus for steaming orfinishing such fabrics in a loosely fed condition,

In; finishing tubular textile fabrics as heretoe fore, practiced, the. fabric-is first stretched or distended, both longitudinally and laterally, steamed while, under tension; then subjected to rolling-pressure while the longitudinal tension is maintained; and in most-cases, wound into a roll.-

Thisprocedurestretches, presses and prevents any shrinkage of the fabric during the operation.

Consequently, when a garment cut from the fabriciss-laundered shrinkage occurswith resulting distortion of {the garment. It has not been possible heretofore to over feed, then rifiie or loosely feed,

steam andimmediately toroll the fabric in fmished form.

It: is the object of the present invention to provideajsimplified method of and apparatus for-- finishing tubular textile fabric whereby the fabric is spread, propelled, steamed and wound upon a roll-and whereby thefabric is longitudinally;-compressed during the finishing operation and textile fabric which causesthe fabric previously stretched: to become heavier, shorter, compacted and puffed, desired characteristics different from thoseheretof ore obtainable.

Other-objects and-advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawing; in which Fig. 1' isa plan view of an apparatus suitable fen-the-practice of theinvention; and

Fig; 2 is a vertical' section through the appara us.

We have. discovered that, contrary to expectation, atubular textilefabric may be finished satisfactorily by the: relatively simple operation of steam-ing and windingithe fabricabout amandrel,

it being unnecessary-to employ calendering rolls or equivalent means. We have also discovered that by steaming thefabric in a relaxed: condition, freefrom any longitudinal tension, the fabric be comes longitudinally;compressed and will not, thereafter, shrink to' anysubstantial amount in laundering operations afterv the fabric has been embodied in garments. Thus; several advantages; result from thesimplified operation.

In carrying out the invention; we preferably feed the cloth under 'a uniform- (slack-) condition obtainable. by using any method of proper auto:- matic. control of speeds and then-we-advance-the material. by meanszof a propeller which is constructed and operated so thatthe fabric is spreadlaterally to the desired width. Although anyspreader maybe used, for example the device-div closed in our Patent No. 2,228,001, issued January 7, 1941, or any similar device, we prefer to, em-. ploy a propeller in, whichthe rearward portion of the fabric. isdelivered at a speed in excess-of: that of the forward. portion so that the' forward portion is. completely are from longitudinal; ten-,-. sion, as evidenced by the. formation of rifiles in the surface of. the fabric." Such a propeller is described inour co-pending application Ser. No.- l32,374, filed DecemberlO, 1949. Itis also made clear in our co-pending application. that by steaming we; mean toinclude the application to j the. fabric of any aqueous medium suchas. steam or water as a finely. divided. spray,

The. fabric, while it is spreadin flattened form and relaxed, is steamed, the'steambeing appliedto. the; upper and lower sides. of the fabric by jets which are opposed sothat the. fabric isnot subjected: to any distortion. A suitable device for applyingt-hesteamis disclosed in our co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 118,086, filed September 27,- 1949, and the details thereofform no partof the in said application are. most effectivev for the purpose, since distortion of the fabric: due to the" pressure. ofthe steam is avoided, the pressure of the opposed jets being neutralized.

If theflfabric, when subjected to-steam, is relaxed' and longitudinally riflled during the steam Immediately after the steaming operation,- the.

fabric is. delivered to a winding mandrel which is operated so that it merely takes up the fabric as it is fed thereto without exerting longitudinal tension in the fabric. A variable speed mechanism may be used on the windup mechanism to control the degree of tension or slackness of the fabric as it is wound up on the roll. The fabric thus wound. is usually smooth and free from wrinkles, compacted and puffed and desirably finished, in addition to being free from subsequent shrinkage.

The invention, therefore, depends upon the two simple steps of steaming the fabric while it advances and immediately rolling the fabric on a mandrel without any intermediate calendering or other treatment. If the fabric is advanced in a relaxed condition, free from longitudinal tension and rifiled or loosely fed, a further advantage is obtained as hereinbefore indicated.

In carrying out the invention, as indicated in the accompanying drawing, the fabric is withdrawn from any suitable source, such as the roll 6, supported on a frame I, and is directed between the idler rollers 8 and 9. It then engages the propeller and is spread laterally in flattened form. The propeller may be of any suitable construction, for example that described in Patent No. 2,228,001, issued January 7, 1941. We prefer, however, to employa propeller which is described in detail in our application Ser. No. 132,374, filed December 10, 1949, which is designed to feed the fabric without friction in the flattened form and to reduce the speed of feeding'of the'forward portion thereof so that the fabric forms riffles as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing and is free from longitudinal tension. Such a propeller, as indicated in Fig. 1, may consist of frames l0 carrying rollers II and pulleys l2 and I2 disposed at the intermediate portion of the propeller with pulleys l3 and I3 at the ends thereof. Belts l4 and M are disposed over the pulleys l2 and I2 and I3 and I3. The pulleys l2, at the left of Fig. 1, have a smaller effective radius than the pulleys 12' at the right, so that the belts M at the left travel at a slower speed than the belts and. I4 at the right. Thus, as the fabric travels over the propeller, its speed is reduced at the forward end and the fabric forms uniform transverse rifiles l5, indicating that all longitudinal tension in the fabric has been eliminated and the fabric islongitudinally compressed. Wheels [6 engage pulleys I2 through the fabric and pulleys I 2 drive the belts M which belts carry the fabric. Consequently, the fabric is advanced without friction and positively at the desired differential speeds to accomplish the purpose indicated. The wheels It may be driven through any suitable gearing (not shown) from a shaft I! (Fig. 2), extending transversely of the machine, which is connected through a belt I8 to a pulley I9 on a shaft 20. The latter is driven from any suitable source of power.

During the passage of the fabric and preferably while it is in arelaxed condition as shown at the left of Fig. 1, steam is applied to the fabric from steam chests 21 disposed above and below the fabric. The particular structure of the steam chests forms no part of the present invention, suitable means being disclosed in a co-pending application Ser. No. 118,086, filed September 27, 1949. Other steaming means may be employed and, if desired, the steam may be applied only to theunder side of the fabric. The effect of the steam on the relaxed fabric isto relieve internal yarn and stitch stress and to permit shrinkage of the fabric which, in its relaxed condition, as-

sumes the natural form with respect to the contour of the stitches. The fabric becomes somewhat thicker and shorter. It continues to advance and may, if desired, be subjected to a blast of air, cold or heated, supplied by a blower 22 which delivers the air to a nozzle 23 extending transversely of the fabric. The effect of the air is to remove excess moisture from the fabric, but the use of air is not essential to the invention and may be eliminated.

The fabric is then wound immediately, and without the application of rolling pressure or calendering, upon a suitable mandrel 24 (Fig. 2). A cardboard tube 25 is placed on the mandrel, and the end of the fabric is wrapped around the cardboard tube and permitted to rest upon a roller 26, which is driven through a pulley 21 and belt 28 from a pulley 29 on the shaft 20. Thus, the fabric is wound at uniform speed, regardless of the size of the roll. Variable speed mechanism of any suitable type may be utilized to drive the shaft 26 at the required speed to take up the fabric 5 without exerting longitudinal tension thereon. Suitable mechanism for this purpose is shown in detail in application Ser. No. 634,701, filed December 13, 1945, and this or any other suitable winding mechanism may be employed. Preferably, mechanism as shown in application Serial No. 634,701 is employed to insure continuous advance of the fabric through the machine. If such mechanism is employed, the fabric before entering the machine may be sewn piece to piece and is continuously advanced through the machine, thus maintaining the uniform condition of the fabric through its various stages of entry into the machine, its advance therethrough and its windup into roll form.

The characteristic of the present invention is the steaming of tubular textile fabric, preferably while in relaxed condition and free from longitudinal tension, or, in other words longitudinala ly compressed, and the immediate winding of the fabric without calendering or pressing. It has never been considered possible heretofore to so treat tubular textile fabrics, sinceit has beenconsidered necessary always to subject the fabric to a calendering or roll pressure operation. We have found that the fabric as treated in accord: ance with the present method is improved in quality and dimensional stability and is not sub--. ject to further substantial shrinkage. Garmentsmade from such fabrics have the same characteristics. universal demand.

The method is extremely simple, requires simple and inexpensive mechanism, and hence it facilitates and reduces the cost-of treating tubular textile fabrics.

By transversely riflled is meant that wrinkles, creases, folds or rumples are formed in the fabric each extending transversely across the fabric.

Various changes may be made in the details of the apparatus and in the operation thereof without departing from the invention or sacrificing the advantages thereof.

We claim:

1. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises advancing the fabricin a flattened form, relaxed and transversely rifiled, applying steam to the relaxed and riflled fabric, and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

2. The method of continuously finishing vtubular textile fabrics which comprises initially feeding the fabric under uniform conditions.;ad-.

Such garments are ever increasing in vancing the fabric in a flattened form, relaxed and transversely riiiled, applying steam to the relaxed and riflled fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

3. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises advancing the fabric in a flattened form, relaxed and transversely rifiled, applying steam simultaneously to the upper and lower faces of the relaxed and rililed fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

i. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises initially feeding the fabric under uniform conditions, advancing the fabric in the flattened form, relaxed and. transversely riflled, applying steam to the relaxed and rifiled fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

5. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises advancing the flattened fabric at differential speeds so that the forward portion is relaxed and transversely riffled, applying steam to the relaxed and rifiled fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

6. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises advancing the flattened fabric at differential speeds so that the forward portion is relaxed and transversely riilled, applying steam simultaneously to. the upper and lower faces of the relaxed and riffied fabric, and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

7. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises initially feeding the fabric under uniform conditions, advancing the fiattened fabric at differential speeds so that the forward portion is relaxed and transversely rifiied, applying steam to the relaxed and riffled fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is relaxed and longitudinally compressed.

8. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises advancing the fabric in a flattened form, longitudinally completely relaxed, applying steam to the relaxed fabric, and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is longitudinally completely relaxed.

9. The method of finishing tubular textile fabrics which comprises initially feeding the fabric under uniform conditions, advancing the fabric in a flattened longitudinally completely relaxed form, applying steam to the relaxed fabric and immediately thereafter winding the fabric while it is longitudinally completely relaxed.

SAMUEL COHN. JULES G. WALTER. EUGENE COHN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 964,088 Chatfield July 12, 1910 2,187,644- Cohn et al. Jan. 16, 1940 2,228,001 Cohn et al Jan. '7, 1941 2,294,642 Wedler Sept. 1, 1942 

